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Healthy aging and longevity Archive

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Bridging the gap: Dementia communication strategies

Communicating with someone with dementia can be tricky, since their ability to understand others and express themselves fluctuates and declines. Certain communication strategies can help smooth interactions between caregivers and dementia patients. They include being an active listener, avoiding confrontation, agreeing with the patient's reality, removing distractions, using shorter sentences and smaller words, asking yes-or-no questions, using written lists and schedules, and incorporating touch.

Taking an aging parent to the doctor? 10 helpful tips

When you take an aging parent to a medical appointment, you wind up playing many roles. Millions of people in the US are caring for family members and are learning as they go along, so they can benefit from tips to keep them on track before, during, and after the appointment.

Is it safe for me to take vitamin K if I am already taking Plavix and aspirin?

Taking antiplatelet drugs can make any “blood thinner” advice confusing. Which blood-thinning medications vitamin K affects matters here.

Could switching from Zoloft to generic sertraline explain weight gain?

Switching from a brand-name antidepressant to a generic can raise questions about side effect changes such as weight gain.

Heart-healthy habits over time linked to a lower risk of aortic stenosis

People who maintain or improve their heart-related risks over time are less likely to develop calcification of the aortic valve, which may lead to aortic stenosis.

Small upgrades to sleep, diet, and exercise may cut heart risk

Sleeping 11 additional minutes, doing an extra five minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and eating just a quarter-cup more of vegetables each day was linked to a 10% reduction in heart attacks, strokes, and other serious heart problems, according to a 2026 study.

Higher fitness levels linked to lower risk of depression, dementia

People with higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness were less likely to develop depression and dementia than those with low levels of cardiorespiratory fitness, according to a 2026 research review.

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